The Pastoral Year in Review

At the end of each year, I draft a summary of all of the preaching, teaching, visitation, writing, counseling, speaking, church outreach, ecclesiastical meetings and other labors in which I have been pastorally engaged in over the course of the year. This summary then goes out to our congregants at our new year meeting. We do this for several reasons. First, I personally find it to be a helpful encouragement (especially if it has been a particularly difficult year in ministry). When a pastor takes the time to sit down and recap everything that he has done over the course of the year, it often surprises him to see how much he has actually accomplished. Second, the elders of our particular congregation encourage me to do this–as they believe that it serves the local church to which I have been called by God to pastor. When congregants see the labors in which their minister has been engaged, it reminds them of their need to pray for him (Eph. 6:19), encourage him and continue to hold him accountable to “fulfill his ministry in the Lord” (Col. 4:17). To that end, here is my 2017 Pastoral Year in Review.

Additionally, I usually try to compile a list of the articles and posts that I have written over the year. Here is the list of what I have written in 2017 (some of which have not yet been published):